On Vacation Guide Book Berlin | Page 34

5 .   A L T E N A T I O N A L G A L E R I E BODESTRASSE 1-3 The Alte Nationalgalerie is the original home of the Nationalgalerie , whose collections today are divided between the Neue Nationalgalerie , the Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin , the Friedrichswerdersche Kirche , Museum Berggruen and the Sammlung Scharf - Gerstenberg . The idea of establishing a cultural and educational centre across from the Berlin Palace dates back to the time of Friedrich Wilhelm IV , who dreamt of creating a " sanctuary for art and science " on the site . The basic architectural concept for the Alte Nationalgalerie – a temple - like building raised on a plinth decorated with motifs from antiquity – came from the king himself . The building was designed by Friedrich August Stüler , a student of Schinkel who also designed the Neues Museum . It was completed after Stüler ’ s death by another of Schinkel ’ s students , Johann Heinrich Strack . The initial impetus for the construction of the Nationalgalerie was a bequest to the Prussian state in 1861 from the banker and consul Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Wagener , whose collection featured works by Caspar David Friedrich , Karl Friedrich Schinkel , painters from the Düsseldorf school , and history painters from Belgium . The bequest came with the stipulation that the paintings were to be publicly displayed in a " suitable location ". Just one year later Stüler received the commission to draw up plans for the building . After ten years of construction the Nationalgalerie ceremoniously opened on 21 March 1876 for the birthday of Kaiser Wilhelm I , becoming the third museum on the island in the Spree . The building suffered direct hits on several occasions during the aerial bombardment of the Second World War , sustaining heavy damage particularly after 1944 . The collection itself had gradually been evacuated with the war ’ s onset . Among other places , it was stored in Berlin ’ s anti - aircraft towers near the zoo and in Friedrichshain , as well as in the salt and potash repositories in Merkers and Grasleben .